1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrodes for electrochemical devices such as capacitors and to anodes for lithium batteries, and the like, which electrode is an alloy or composite of lithium with at least one other material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While lithium electrodes are satisfactory for incorporation into electrochemical devices, and as anodes for incorporation into batteries, pure lithium is difficult to work with as it has a low melting point, is subject to corrosion and limits the number of charging cycles that the device can sustain.
It has been proposed to form alloys of lithium with other materials such as aluminum, tin, silicone, and cadmium for use as electrodes but the resultant products have not provided the desired improvements. It has now been found that forming alloys or composites of lithium with magnesium alone, or with magnesium and other selected materials, produces products that when fabricated into electrodes, increase the cycling capability of the devices three to four times that where the electrode is of pure lithium, and which provides other advantages.